PREVIEW: For conclusion of two-game homestand, Red Wings welcome Senators on Sunday

DETROIT -- Looking to earn a second consecutive victory on home ice, the Detroit Red Wings will host the Ottawa Senators for an Atlantic Division clash at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday evening.

“We all have the same goal in mind,” goalie John Gibson said. “We know it’s a really tight race this year, kind of different than in the past. You know you have to win every night and you can’t have losing streaks, so there’s a little bit more pressure. I think we’re welcoming it. We’re excited and confident in the group we have in here.”

Broadcast coverage of Sunday’s 5 p.m. puck drop between the Red Wings (29-16-4; 62 points) and Senators (22-19-6; 50 points) will air on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit). Nearly two weeks ago, Detroit beat Ottawa by a 5-3 score at Canadian Tire Centre -- the first of four regular-season meetings – on Jan. 5.

“They’re winning some games and feeling good about themselves,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said of the Senators, who are on a three-game point streak. “Their approach to the game might be a little bit different, but our start was important in that building on [Jan. 5]. That certainly helped us get through some of the rougher times in that game later, but I think the start will be important as well again [on Sunday].”

Detroit opened its two-game homestand with a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Friday, which marked its 17th win of the season at Little Cesars Arena. Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, captain Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper all lit the lamp for the Red Wings, while Gibson stopped 20 shots to push his personal winning streak to five consecutive contests.

Owning a 14-2-0 record with a 2.06 goals-against average and .929 save percentage as well as three shutouts in his last 16 starts, Gibson said the keys to this stretch of success have been “finding my game on a nightly basis and kind of getting into my groove.”

“It wasn’t the start I wanted, but it’s a long season,” Gibson said. “You try to be patient, put the work in and I knew it was going to change eventually.”

Since the beginning of December, McLellan has observed a shift in Gibson.

“[Gibson] looks bigger,” McLellan said. “His chest is sticking out. He feels better. I notice it the most during TV timeouts, when he comes to the bench and kind of takes charge. ‘Hey, D-men, be aware of this. If I get it here, this is what I’m thinking. They’re looking backside.’ Just his interaction and his activeness around the players have gone up immensely. And he’s now got leadership qualities, too. That took a little while to come to fruition, but it’s happening.”

Ottawa, like San Jose two days earlier, arrives in Detroit on the second half of a back-to-back set following a 6-5 overtime loss to the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Tim Stützle enters on a three-game point streak -- two goals and two assists in that span – and this season, leads the Senators with 49 points (21 goals, 28 assists). Drake Batherson is not far behind the German forward with 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists), including three (two goals, three assists) in his last five games.

Netminder James Reimer is expected to make his Ottawa debut on Sunday. The 37-year-old, who signed a one-year contract with the Senators on Friday and spent the 2023-24 season with the Red Wings, backed up Leevi Meriläinen on Saturday.